18 minute read
The Transition from Specialist to Manager
by Victor J Callan, Professor of Management, Graduate School of Management, University of Queensland
What Does It Mean To Be A Manager?
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If we are to understand more fully the transition from specialist to manager, we need to firstly understand what are the demands on managers and what are the required skills in the managerial role. Henri Fayol's
(1949) classic statement about the elements of management was that managers are involved in planning. organising, commanding. coordinating and controlling.
However, while Fayol's list of skills and activities is useful, it is an inadequate description of what managers do. and how they do it. A number of more accurate descriptions of the modern day
manager highlight the wide range of activities completed by today's
manager. For instance, Mintzberg identifies specific managerial tasks which are representative of three general roles: Interpersonal (manager as leader, liaison,
figurehead). information processing (monitor, disseminator.
spokesperson), and decision making (entrepreneur, disturbance handler. resource allocator, negotiator). He believes that all roles apply to any manager, although he asserts that the relative importance of roles may vary from one kind of manager to another.
Others like Kotter (1982) define the challenges in being a manager as:
Setting basic goals, policies and strategies despite environmental uncertainties;
Balancing the claims for
organisational resources;
Monitoring activities to identify and resolve problems;
Getting information, cooperation and the support of superiors;
Getting co-operation from groups over which managers have no direct authority, such as suppliers,
customers. and other departments; motivating staff and managing conflict.
In summary, it is clear that being a manager is much more complex than originally described by Fayol many years ago. Linking together the various views that exist about the nature of managerial work, it is clear that:
1. Not only do managers want to encourage the flow of current information, but they also are
conditioned by their own work loads.
2. When managers must plan things. they generally do so implicitfk ithin the context of their daily actions; their plans are not usually the result of two weeks of meetings held at the
organisation's mountain retreat. 3. The job of managing does not breed reflective planners.
4. Managers are geared to action.
5. Managerial plans exist only in managers' heads - as flexible, but often specific, intentions.
6. The controlled disorder in which many managers operate is more typical than the cool unhurried environment described in many
management textbooks.
7. In making managerial decisions, managers, like pilots flying by the seat of their pants, rely heavily on their know-how based on past
instruments", as an aviator might say, they are "off theories". 8. Good managers, like good pilots. have a certain feel about situations and can generally make pragmatic, time -saving, and accurate leaps into problem -solving. They thrive on ambiguity. They get paid for making sound decisions before a situation gets to the black or white phase. The Transition To Being A Manager
When we consider the transition from specialist to manager it is important therefore to realise what is the
ultimate goal - that is. having people who were once specialists function effectively in the managerial role. The task of managing, however, is not a formula or system. A successful transition will mean that a specialist must be able to cope with a new approach to what they do at work. Most significantly, as emphasised earlier managing is a multi -faceted task in which people are expected to perform several roles in the same day. as they move from being a supervisor, to a disturbance handler, to human resource manager, to sales person and leader, just to name a few of these roles.
Most importantly. the specialist who becomes a manager needs also to accept changes not only to their roles and relationships with people, but also changes to their mindsets and personal values. As a specialist, they are accustomed to directly performing specific technical tasks. Things get done mostly by their own efforts. In contrast as a manager, they are asked to be a generalist who orchestrates diverse tasks, including finance, product design, and manufacturing or
organisation. Rather than being independent, their identity is strongly identified as highly interdependent.
The change from specialist to
manager is a career transition. There is some stress associated with any change. We know that any stress linked to the transition to manager will be lowered if managers have support at work and access to information and training about their new role. In addition, despite claims that career transitions such as the one from specialist to manager might be highly stressful, the retrospective reports of 2300 British managers reveal that for the vast majority the anticipation of job transition is at most only mildly anxiety provoking (Nicholson & West 1988).
Rather the stresses associated with the anticipation of the change are outweighed by the levels of
excitement about future challenges and experiences. At the same time, new managers are very concerned and anxious about doing the new job competently. The actual experience of job transition is probably better summarised as pathfinding or one of problem -solving. The evidence is that most new managers seem to "hit the ground running".
As Hill (1992) writes in her book Becoming a Manager, there is a need for new managers to confront the personal side of management, and to manage and master the transformation to a new identity. Emphasising the role of on-the-job experiences. Hill describes how new managers play the outer game of management by accepting new responsibilities and roles. At the same time what they slowly learn is that they must also play an inner game that allows them to develop their personal identity and attitudes. She describes the adjustment or transformation from a specialist, a doer and an individual actor, to a generalist, agenda -setter and network builder. She argues that new
managers have to learn how to think, feel and act as managers instead of being the individual contributors.
To make this adjustment, new managers must address four
challenges: learning what it means to be a manager; developing
interpersonal judgment; gaining self knowledge; and coping with stress and emotion. Central to this transition to manager is a process of learning from experience.
Unfortunately, most organisations in the West seem to treat management development as a survival of the fittest proposition. A successful transition from specialist to manager is left up to the innate skills and personal strengths of the individual. There are a number of key strategies that organisations can consider in easing the transition from specialist to manager. These include:
1. Anticipating Common Pitfalls: The challenge for new managers is to accept that they need to alter their frame of reference from a doer to a generalist.
2. Creating a Resource Base: New managers must be prepared to seek advice and assistance. In building this resource base of superiors, peers, or people outside the organisation, they must be open to self -disclosure, constructive criticism and general feedback.
3. Allowing People to Change Their Decision: Organisations and their managers need to provide systems to undo incorrect decisions about who can be a manager.
4. Organisations to Identify Potential Managers: Corporations need to
apply criteria that encompass a range of technical, personal, conceptual and analytical competencies in their choice of potential managers. 5. The Use of Management
Internships: Examples of this strategy include asking potential managers to assume some managerial responsibilities for at least a year before being promoted to management.
6. Provide Senior Managers with Training on how to Be Better Coaches.
7. Encouraging the Development of Networks and Relationships for Use by New Managers: Central to this
strategy is the placement of the new manager on special committees or taskforces to allow greater contact with more senior colleagues.
8. Corporate and management
education and training: This training should not only be about knowledge, but also skills and attitudes. Both task and personal learning need to occur.
In summary, a major challenge for new managers is to master a new role and a new identity. During the transition they will reframe their understanding of managing, and in particular they must adjust to the transformation from a specialist and a doer to a generalist and network builder. During the transition they must learn how to think, feel and act as managers, instead of being the individual contributor that is at the core of being a specialist. Managing the transition is the responsibility not only of the individual but also their organisations.
A Survey of The Attitudes Of Australian Specialists And
Managers About The Transition Recently the author conducted a survey of 100 Australian managers who have made the transition, and 100 specialists who expect to be managers in the near future. The survey was part of the research program of the Industry Task Force on Leadership and Management Skills, chaired by Mr David Karpin, CRA. The objective of the survey was to measure and compare the attitudes of specialists and managers to various aspects of the transition. The results of the survey are now briefly
summarised.
Manager Reports About the
Transition. When first placed in the manager role, some two thirds report that they believed they were not very effective. Various routes to management were reported. Almost 40 percent were promoted to an existing position within their present organisation, or in a prior
organisation (20 percent). A quarter were promoted to a new position in either their present or a previous organisation.
Some two-thirds of managers felt that their organisation at the time did little or nothing to assist them in the
transition. Only 6 percent agreed that their companies did as much as
possible. Half felt that their specialist training (e.g. a course, degree, certificate) assisted them in making the transition. However, over 80 percent believed that their on-the-job experiences in their specialist field assisted them with the transition.
Specialist Reports About the Transition. Specialists were also questioned about the value of training to assist the transition. About half believed that their specialist training (i.e. a course, degree, trade) would help, while similar to managers, most (85 percent) felt the on-the-job
experiences in their specialist field would help them in making the transition. Finally, 83 percent of specialists agreed that specialist training courses (e.g. trades, degrees) need to introduce more training about the demands and roles of being a manager.
Making the Transition; Managers' and Specialists' Opinions. At a general level, both groups reported the difficulty of learning 12 specified roles typically- defined as part of being a manager. Table 1 presents the attitudes of managers and specialists about the difficulty of learning the various roles common to being a manager. As can be seen from the rankings in Table 1, the two groups were quite similar in agreeing about the difficulty of learning to be a
politician, a leader, negotiator, and organiser. Actual comparisons of the mean ratings for both groups on the difficulty to learn these roles revealed some statistically significant
differences. Managers rated as more difficult to learn than specialists the roles of "boss/authority figure", "supervisor/adviser", "liaison-, and "integrator". The two groups did not differ significantly in their opinions about the other roles.
In another question, managers only were asked about the extent to which certain personal challenges to their values and attitudes had occurred during the transition to being a
manager. The majority of managers agree that they were: 1. Surprised by amount of personal learning about themselves in becoming a manager:
2. The transition made them change the way they thought about issues; 3. The transition was an "eye- opener", learning more about
themselves as a person;
4. The training in their specialisation did little to prepare them for being a manager; 5. And, about half missed the ability
Table I. Difficulty of Ten Managerial Roles (rank order based on mean ratings by managers and specialists) Managers Specialists
Politician
Boss/Authority Figure Sales/Marketing Leader
Negotiator People Manager
Team Leader
Business Person Liaison Integrator
Supervisor/Adviser Administrator Organiser
1
2
3
4
5 6
7 8 9 10
11
12
1
9
2
5
3 8 4
12
11
7
I() they had as a specialist to get things done by their own efforts. In summary, the vast majority of managers had experienced personal changes and personal learning
through the transition. Most did not miss being a specialist, nor did they believe that the change to management had been associated with a loss of status.
Summary In summary, both the writings of managers and of those who have studied them, as well as the findings of the survey conducted for the Task Force, reveal that:
1. The challenge for new managers is to master a role in which more experienced managers tell us: planning is implicitly done within the context of their daily actions
the job of managing will not make them reflective planners
they must be geared to action
there is controlled disorder
they will be reluctant to delegate tasks
managers will rely heavily on their know-how based on past experience
and, they will learn to thrive on ambiguity
2. New managers over time reframe their understanding of what being a manager means. New managers learn because they have to act: and reflecting on these actions they learn to better understand what a manager does. The adjustment is a
transformation from a specialist, a doer and an individual actor, to a generalist, agenda -setter and network builder. New managers have to learn how to think.feel and act as managers instead of being the individual
contributor.
3. The managerial career, like other careers, should be seen as a sequence of transitions and other moves that are a natural part of a person's life. Career transitions are somewhat stressful but are quite a normal feature of careers.
4. The actual experience of job transition is summarised as pathfinding or one of problem - solving; most new managers seem to "hit the ground running". The
transition to manager is very much a form of action -based or work -based learning. Managers report feeling an iterative, gradual process of personal change as a consequence of deep - level learning and reflection about their on-the-job experiences. The transition to manager constitutes a profound transformation, as
individuals learn to think, feel, and value as managers.
5. Finally, management can use various tools and strategies to ease the transition to a managerial role. In particular they can implement actions to identify managerial potential by applying criteria that encompass a range of technical. personal. conceptual and analytical competencies in their choice of
potential managers. In addition, they need to consider more than they have in the past their roles in providing appropriate support. orientation and coaching as their specialists make the transition into management.
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Editorial
In recent months local governments in Queensland have had their
attention on Registers of Interest for both elected members, senior
officers and their related persons. As a result the Press has been busy publishing in great detail the complete profile of elected
members' assets and liabilities as disclosed in those Registers. Whether this public exposure of personal affairs is a valid
contribution to the suppression of corruption and official misconduct is highly questionable. On the other hand the publishers of these
exposes have a happy knack of presenting the material so as to imply that any individual who has worked hard enough to accumulate an array of assets must thereby be tainted.
This stereotyping is supported by uninformed, unsupported and sweeping statements that local government is. a hot bed of corruption and misconduct. Statements like these are usually made by persons of unspecified qualification to comment and are always presented in a totally
unsubstantiated manner. The lash is all the more painful when it comes from the tongue of those at other levels of government. Pro rata, the number of State politicians and public sen ants in
Australia who have served time at Her Majesty's pleasure for corruption or misconduct far
outweighs those who have come to similar fates at local government level.
This is also the result in
Queensland, despite a very active Criminal Justice Commission in recent years, whose investigating of thousands of time consuming allegations, has produced very little in the way of substantiated cases of misconduct or corruption. Thus it is even more disappointing that the publicity involved in setting up Registers of Interest should activate a new round of unfounded assertions launched at local government as a general target.
No level of government can claim absolute purity of purpose and outcome as all are subject to the weaknesses of the human condition. To single out local
government for charges of infamy however is wrong in fact, baseless in truth and unjust to the large numbers of sincere, dedicated and largely self sacrificing men and women both Councillors and
senior staff who serve their local communities honourably and with integrity. -Ed.
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Administration of Swimming Pool Fencing Laws
The provisions of the Building Act concerning the fencing of private swimming pools have been and continue to be a challenge for local government in implementing them with good effect, acting reasonably and safeguarding both community and Councils' interests. The
Councils' duty of care in particular situations is always a prime focus if Councils are to avoid actions for negligence arising from some unfortunate tragedy involving a
private pool.
Central to local government's role in enforcement of the legislation is prosecution action against the owner of land for non-compliance with the Act. Councils may be held liable in negligence where a person is injured through the non-compliance of an owner in circumstances where the Council should have reasonably taken action to ensure compliance.
The Council should therefore put in place appropriate administrative procedures that satisfy Council's objectives of minimising liability whilst at the same time taking a practical and commonsense approach to the enforcement of statutory provisions for which there is some community resentment.
Solicitors Cons Chambers Westgarth have suggested certain administrative procedures which should establish a standard of good practice in
approaching the implementation of the fencing legislation.
The administrative procedures should comprise the following elements:
(a) Where a building compliance search has been lodged or a complaint made, the subject property should be inspected to determine whether there has been compliance with the
provisions of the Act.
(b) Where an inspection reveals that there has been non-compliance with the swimming pool fencing provisions of the Act, the Council should serve a written notice on the owner of the property specifying the elevant requirements of part 4B of the Act and clause 11 of the Standard Building Law, the particular areas of non-compliance, the time within which the owner must comply and the ability of the owners to apply for variations or exemptions from the requirements of the Act and the Standard Building Law.
(c) Where the owner fails to comply with the written notice, the Council should advise the owner in writing of the Council's power to require compliance with the provisions of the Act and the penalties that are applicable in respect of non-
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(d) Where the owner fails to comply with the written notice the Council should advise the owner in writing that unless action is taken to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Act, the Council will commence proceedings in the Magistrates Court for non-compliance.
(e) Where the owner continues not to comply with the provisions of the Act, the Council should consider commencing prosecution
proceedings. In deciding whether to commence proceedings the Council should have regard to factors such as the nature of the non-compliance, and the magnitude of the risk of injury represented by the non-compliance. (1) If in respect of a written notice from the Council the owner lodges an application for building approval or a variation or exemption from the swimming pool fencing requirements in the Act, the Council should assess the application and decide it in accordance with the Act and the Standard Building Law. (g) If the swimming pool fencing requirements are complied with as a result of the application, then no further action should be taken. However, if the application is refused or if after approval a compliance inspection reveals that there has not been compliance with the swimming pool fencing requirements, then the Council should once again advise the owner in writing of the penalties for non-compliance and follow the
procedures set out in items (d) and (e) above.
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